


The Blind Blocker

by QuarantineWriter



Series: Haikyū!! Hijinks!! [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Being blind sucks, Canon Compliant, Despite the summary I only intended for them to be bros being bros in this, First-year squad, Friendship, Gen, Oh no he’s blind, Slice of Life, Summary was done for the pun basically, but it’s up to you to decide how I depicted them here, take my word for it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 02:35:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30014823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuarantineWriter/pseuds/QuarantineWriter
Summary: Tsukishima forgets his glasses. How will he go about his day? Very mild TsukiYama if you squint (that pun was very much intended and I have no regrets).
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio & Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: Haikyū!! Hijinks!! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2201730
Kudos: 7





	The Blind Blocker

Kei Tsukishima is known for many things. He's smart, tall, salty, and much more. What many don't really know is that he's basically blind without glasses. People never realize this, since the last time he ever forgot his glasses was when he was in grade school (and his vision wasn't even that bad back then). Plus, whenever he takes them off he manages to process his surroundings before doing so, just in case anyone asks him to read something in the distance during that brief window without his glasses. Other times, he would take them off for a long time only when he knows he won't really be told to do anything. He wasn't going to let this detail go out, not after keeping it for so long. Who knows how much people will tease him about it? Being the one who can analyze spikers on the court in seconds, yet can't see without two pieces of glass in front of his face. Pathetic.

Too bad that unknown detail is going out today.

He left his house in a hurry that day. He was studying for a Math exam last night and hadn't noticed the time until it was near midnight. As a result, he woke up late and ended up having to rush everything. From taking a shower to eating breakfast, it was all a blur. And in going in such a rush, he left his glasses on his bedside table. 

Even now, as he is waiting impatiently for the pedestrian lights to turn green, he still hasn't noticed. Now, saying that he's basically blind was a lie. He's nearsighted and as a result, he can't see details from afar clearly. He can see people just fine, but step back a bit and he probably won't be able to tell what expression you're making... okay, maybe saying he's basically blind wasn't a lie.

He managed to run to Karasuno High just in time, with five minutes to get to his classroom. As he ran to his floor, he remembered that his brother, Akiteru, was still there in their house that morning after visiting him and his mom this weekend. He persistently offered to drive Kei all the way to school, so he wouldn't be late. But looking at the traffic he passed on the way, he was glad he didn't take the offer. 

Now, he's on the floor where his classroom resided. He still hasn't slowed down his pace to make sure he would really make it. As his feet came in contact with the floor every second, the rest of his body suddenly came in contact with something else. Or rather, someone else. 

"Tsukki?"

"Yamaguchi?" Tsukishima said, and when he finally got his bearings after falling to the floor, he helped his best friend get up. "Sorry about that," he continued, "I wasn't fully sure if I was gonna make it in time by just walking, so I resulted to running."

"It's fine, Tsukki. Hey, at least you're not late, right?" Yamaguchi let out a small chuckle and rubbed the back of his head, smiling.

Then Tsukishima paused, _wait._ _I don't see the smile, why... why is his face blurry? Is this a dre—no I'm not that stupid. I know damn well I woke up today._

"Oh, Tsukki, your glasses," Yamaguchi said when he realized the middle blocker started squinting at him. "I'll go look for them. You probably dropped it when we bumped into each other." 

And look he did, but he couldn't find it anywhere, no matter how much he searched. He walked back to his friend with a frown on his face.

When Yamaguchi told him that his search wasn't successful, Tsukishima thought. _Shoot, shoot, shoot. I just realized that the traffic lights weren't clear earlier when I was running (it's a miracle I didn't crash into anything). I swear if I forgot—no I never forget them. Maybe..._

He brought his bag up to his desk and searched it for the case that holds his glasses whenever not in use. Nothing. Nothing, but the cloth that cleaned what he searched for.

Tsukishima buried his face into his hands. "Well, I'm going to die today."

Yamaguchi tensed up. "Don't die on me, Tsukki! I'll help you with class today and other things you can't read."

The school bell rang, signaling the start of the day for the students of Karasuno.

_It's going to be a long day._

————————————————————————————————————

His first period is Math, the reason why he's in this mess in the first place. 

_I'm going to ace this test. You may have taken away my glasses, Math, but you can never take away my intelligence... oh shoot, I'm turning into Hinata. It's deteriorating my brain._

The teacher handed out the test papers to the whole class, grabbed a small timer and started it. "You may now begin the test. Good luck."

Tsukishima managed to fly by the questions with ease, though he had to stop once in a while and stick his face into the paper, since he kept confusing different numbers that look similar to each other. Doing this, however, got the attention of his teacher and some classmates.

"Tsukishima, are you alright or do you just like the smell of the paper?" asked the teacher.

Some quiet giggling was heard among the other students in the room.

"I'm sorry, sir. I just forgot my glasses at home today, and I want to make sure I don't confuse any numbers on the test. Just don't mind me."

"Ok then." He glanced at some of the students looking at the middle blocker. "What are you guys doing? Keep your eyes on your own papers, or else I'll mark you for cheating."

The rest of the test time was filled with quiet within the room, except the sound of pencils writing on paper. Tsukishima finished at least twenty whole minutes before the end of the test. He used these twenty minutes to get some extra rest for the day. 

Twenty minutes later, a loud sound of an alarm clock woke him up. It was the timer the teacher had put up. Everyone passed their papers, and it's time to continue the rest of their day.

After their next few periods, it was the beginning of their lunch break. Walking down to get to the cafeteria was difficult for both Yamaguchi and his friend. The taller of the two didn't need assistance for the most part on their way to the cafeteria... for the most part. 

Their destination was only down the hall. The problem was that hall had been recently mopped and is currently wet and slippery. Everyone walking by knew this and took extra caution, because there was a sign that said so near the middle of the hall. As stated earlier, Tsukishima can see big figures just fine. His problems are small details. He didn't see the sign, as it was just a yellow blob, and the words written on it aren't even readable to him anymore.

Yamaguchi noticed that his friend didn't stop walking at the same pace they had been walking at earlier. 

"Tsukki, wait!"

But it was too late. Just as he finished his sentence, Tsukishima's foot took another step and it slipped, causing the rest of his body to fall with the loss of friction.

Yamaguchi was quick enough to react and managed to grab the other by his hand. Big mistake on his part.

Tsukishima's weight was too much to be supported by Yamaguchi in such a short span of time. The pinch server tried to regain balance, but failed. Luckily, Tsukishima caught sight of this and tightened his grip on his friend's hand and pulled him enough, so he can regain somewhat of his balance. Unluckily, doing this caused Tsukishima to lose his balance. He started slipping again when Yamaguchi suddenly did the same thing to save his friend. 

This went on for about three more times, looking like a dance routine they practiced until the shorter boy managed to grab hold of a locker to support the both of them. They stood in the slippery hall together with only a bit more to go to reach the cafeteria. They still haven't let go of each other's hand, since they're slightly scared they might end up doing that routine again.

"Okay, we've only got a few more steps to go. Let's take it steady and slow, alright?" Yamaguchi said.

Tsukishima nodded.

One step at a time. It probably took them three whole minutes for just seventeen steps, but they were here. Finally. When they made sure they were on solid ground that wouldn't make them slip, they let go of each other.

"That was a cool dance routine you two did!" said a high-pitched voice.

Tsukishima looked up, then down. He saw a fluff of orange hair. _Hinata._ He then fixed his sight on the other figure beside him. He had black hair and a noticeable height difference with the other middle blocker. He wasn't sure who this was, since they were still a good two meters away from him and not to mention a lot of people had black hair and basically everyone was taller than Hinata— _except children and Nishinoya. Hahah short._ Then he heard it. 

"That's not a dance routine, dumbass."

_Well, that confirms it. That's Kageyama._

Yamaguchi stepped into the conversation, "Did... did you guys see all that?" 

"Yep, since the first step you took on there,"replied Hinata.

"Wait! Please forget this happened. That was so embarrassing slipping across the hall like an idiot." Yamaguchi started blushing a bit. 

"So you're calling me an idiot?" Tsukishima teased.

"What?! No!"

"Hey, will you two quit acting like bigger idiots? Let's go grab lunch already," Kageyama said to prevent their friendly argument from going on any longer.

"Are you guys sure? We never really have lunch together," Yamaguchi said.

"Why not? We're already here anyways." Hinata gestured to the entrance of the cafeteria.

Yamaguchi looked at his friend for approval, his friend thought for a while, sighed, then agreed.

"H-hold on. He actually said yes?" Kageyama stared at the both of them, confused.

"What are you guys waiting for?!" shouted Hinata near a counter, already in line for food.

The squad of first years finally got their food and found a table that was rather secluded from everyone else, much to the delight of the tallest.

"How are you gonna go to practice later?" Hinata asked as he stuffed his face with some rice.

"I guess I won't. I can barely see in class, so much less on a court," replied Tsukishima.

"But we need your blocking skills later! Coach said we were going to focus a lot on defensive plays today," Hinata said as he swallowed the rice he previously stuffed his face with.

"You'll need the extra practice more than me."

"You know, I'm glad you never forget your glasses. It's so... unnerving seeing you act so stupid. Like earlier—" Kageyama piped up, deciding to finally join in their conversation, but was promptly cut off.

Tsukishima looked up from his meal. "I'm surprised you even know what that means, and I swear I'm going to find a way to erase your memory if you bring up the events of what happened earlier again."

"Oh shut up."

"But seriously though, Tsukki, you should really show up to practice. I'm fairly sure Tanaka would be lost in blocking without you to guide him." Hinata ate another spoonful of rice.

"As if you wouldn't be," muttered the setter under his breath.

"I'm blind today! What part of that don't any of you understand! And don't call me Tsukki!" Tsukishima shouted, causing the attention of passing students to turn to the group of volleyball players.

"Can't you run back home and grab your glasses before heading to practice, Tsukki? I'm sure Daichi wouldn't mind," Yamaguchi said.

"Ok. First of all, why does he get to call you Tsukki? And second, why didn't you think of that in the first place?!" Hinata shouted, once again catching the attention of passing students.

"One, he's not annoying when he says it. Two, since my brother visited this weekend to 'take care of me' while our parents are at work, he's still going to leave tomorrow. He's got the keys and said he's visiting friends of his until I don't know. But for sure we'll at least be halfway through practice by the time he's done. My parents have the other set of keys and they're going to be working overtime again to cover the shifts of sick coworkers."

"Talk about bad timing," said Kageyama.

Yamaguchi thought of another possible solution to this problem, but when he was met without an answer, he sighed. "Looks like Tsukki's going to be blind the rest of the day." He chuckled a bit, trying to lighten the mood.

"Holy shindjwnd." The tallest member planted his face on the table, which caused the last part to be a blur. 

"Is this really the same Tsukishima we all know and hate? I'm sure he wouldn't do this in front of anyone," Kageyama said as he looked up from a bowl of soup he was eating from.

"Oh no! Tsukishima, I literally just said not to die on me earlier," scolded Yamaguchi.

Tsukishima sat back upright. "I just remembered that we get penalties if we skip practices without a valid reason, and Nishinoya and Tanaka would find a way to make me being blind a 'not valid' reason. You know how much I hate running laps."

"So it's finally settled! You're coming to practice!" Hinata slammed his empty plate down, mimicking a judge in a court case.

The bell rang and the group of first years dispersed, leaving each other for their respective classes.

————————————————————————————————————

To say that the next part of the day went smoother than expected is an understatement to Tsukishima. The teachers let him off easy and just let him copy notes from Yamaguchi. They also wouldn't call him to read things off the board.

He remembered that the last time he left his glasses at home was a nightmare. His teachers wouldn't let him copy notes from others as a "lesson" to not forget his glasses— _which totally backfired 'cause look where I am now. Thank you, grade school teachers._ They would also catch him dozing off in class, since he couldn't focus on the lessons with everything being unreadable. Which in turn, caused him to be called out a lot. He made sure not to do this anymore today and at least tried to look like he was paying attention.

Sadly for everyone, the good doesn't last forever. It was now time for volleyball practice.

Tsukishima decided to let Yamaguchi join the other first years in heading to the gym, so he could take his time walking there. Slowly, but surely, he's there. The sounds of volleyballs being spiked on the floor reached him once he opened the doors. And another sound came to follow.

"Tsukishima!!!"

_Spare me._

"Hinata told us what happened to you!" Tanaka shouted.

Nishinoya held up two fingers in front of him. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"He just doesn't have glasses, he's not stupid," said Ennoshita as he loomed over his fellow second-years.

"But Hinata said he was blind," argued Tanaka. Ennoshita stared at the two in disbelief at their stupidity, and his slightly threatening aura forced the both of them to keep quiet. 

The second-years went back to practice as a new face came to consult the blocker. It was their captain.

Sawamura asked if his underclassman was alright for practice, and although reluctant to say that all was good. Tsukishima did so. Daichi went on to explain the practices they were having for the day to his underclassman, since he apparently walked too slow to the point that he missed his coach—who was now up by the net spiking at blockers—explaining it earlier.

It was simple. First, Nishinoya is on the other side setting the ball for Ukai to spike, and everyone else is in one orderly line taking their turn for a one-on-one. Second, the blocks will be done by three players, with the spiker being at the back row. And lastly, a whole team of six will be doing a synchronized attack (this will also be a way for them to get more practice for it), and it will be shuffled every time so the blockers and attackers vary.

_Alright, let's do this._

"Wait, why isn't Noya going to do much today?" asked Hinata.

"Because he's a libero, and liberos can't attempt blocks, dumbass," answered Kageyama.

"Oh don't worry. He's going to be doing way more extra setting practice today," Sugawara said in a smug tone when he entered their conversation.

"Hey, my sets are much better now!" Nishinoya shouted from the other side of the court.

"Say that to the ball you setted to the window up there." Asahi pointed to a ball lodged into a slightly open window with Kinoshita, Narita, and Shimizu beside it using a ladder in an attempt to get it out.

_How is it even possible to throw a set that far off?_ Tsukishima thought.

————————————————————————————————————

As Tanaka landed on the ground after a successful block, it was Tsukishima's turn. He dodged a half-naked Tanaka spinning his shirt in the air around, and positioned himself at the front of the net. Nishinoya set the ball to Ukai and it began making its way down, but the middle blocker noticed that his coach wasn't getting ready to spike right away.

_A delayed spike!_ He grinned. _You're not going to get me that easy!_

Ukai spiked the ball down, expecting to hear the sound of it bouncing off the floor. But instead of the floor, the ball met Tsukishima's right hand and bounced back into the other court."Nice one, Tsukishima!" Ukai said.

The first-year walked to the back of the line, smiling—internally—as he waited for his next turn. 

The first part of training went on without any problems... unless you count Daichi scolding Tanaka for being too loud.

Next up, back-attack blocking. Tsukishima was paired with Tanaka and Hinata for blocking, with Asahi spiking on the other side.

"Tsukishima! You've got to tell us the timing, ok?” said Hinata.

"What he said!" Tanaka wrapped his arm around Tsukishima, as the latter shivered a bit.

"If you two will shut up, then I'll do it," said Tsukishima reluctantly.

"Yay!"

Once Nishinoya saw the blockers ready, he set the ball up to Asahi. The ball became a blob of blue and yellow to the tallest as it travelled to the back row. Tsukishima squinted to try and clear the image, but once he did, it was too late. Asahi has already leaped into the air and began to swing his arm to spike.

"Jump!" 

The three attempted to block, and since it was late and Hinata kind of has a height disadvantage, their ace took advantage of this opportunity. He swung his arm to force the ball towards Hinata, causing the latter's hand to barely graze the spiked ball. The three blockers landed back down with the ball still bouncing on the floor from Asahi's strength.

"What was that, man!" Tanaka shouted at Tsukishima.

"It's not his fault! It's mine!" Hinata tried to argue with his upperclassman.

"It's not your fault you're so short," said Tsukishima.

"Thank you... hey!"

"Sorry about the timing. It's hard to know when to jump when the ball looks way bigger from being smudged in your vision."

_You two should really learn the timing yourselves, but whatever._

"Don't sweat it, Tsukki. That's why we've got practice, isn't it?"

_Talk about a change of tone._

"Sure."

The three of them went back to the front of the net to prepare themselves for another block, while Asahi and Nishinoya prepared themselves for another spike on the other side of the net. Another set up, and this time Tsukishima knew what to do.

He already had his eyes squinted before the set to focus on the ball better. Every step their ace took was an extra sliver of focus need for the middle blocker. Once he noticed that Asahi was in line with the now falling ball, he shouted

"Hinata, jump now! Just you!"

Though the smaller middle blocker slightly hesitated, he left the ground with enough time to spare. At this time, Azumane was now propelling himself off the ground and preparing his arm to spike.

"Tanaka, our turn!"

The two remaining blockers on the ground leaped into the air where their arms and hands met Hinata's whose arms were already above the net.

_Amazing! He timed it so that once they jump, Hinata's already up in their level._ Yachi thought as she watched from the sidelines.

Asahi, not able to spot an opening decided to use brute strength to get past the block. Unfortunately, this did not work as the ball ricocheted off Tanaka's hand and back into the ace's side of the court.

"Let's go!" yelled Tanaka at the top of his lungs while once again, spinning his shirt around.

"Tanaka, shut up or you'll be doing twenty laps around the court again this week!"

After a much needed break for the team, it's almost time for the last part of their training. Everyone, including Tsukishima himself, seemed to have forgotten that the latter doesn't even have his glasses, due to how well he's been blocking spikes once he's got his rhythm.

But here's the problem: he knew where the set is going to in the first two exercises. The next one would be much harder. The set will be random with five possible spikers all approaching at the same time.

"First trio of blockers are Tsukishima, Azumane, and Narita. On offense, Kageyama, Hinata, Ennoshita, Sawamura, Nishinoya, and Kinoshita," ordered Ukai.

Everyone went to their respective places, and a whistle from their coach alerted the start of the offense. Kiyoko threw a ball towards Nishinoya. The libero prepared for the set as everyone else prepared for a spike. Nishinoya threw the set to the right side, where Kageyama and Ennoshita—who was at the back—were.

Here's another problem Tsukishima has without glasses: some things are probably farther to him than they actually are. And it's proven here when Tsukishima didn't jump at all when he thought Nishinoya's set was going too far for either Kageyama or Ennoshita to reach.

"How do you think I can even throw a set that far off?" Nishinoya asked.

Tsukishima didn't say anything but pointed to the window where the ball was previously stuck in.

"It was one time!"

A few more sets go by, and Tsukishima has yet to properly block anything. Some mistakes he made include, not noticing Hinata running first when Kageyama was setting, allowing them to perform their quick attack. Another was when he fell for Kinoshita faking a spike in the front row, when the ball was set to the back for Ennoshita.

Ukai let the middle blocker rest for a bit to try and regain focus for his next blocks and to let other players practice blocking. He found a spot on the floor, and was promptly approached by Yamaguchi, who was handing him a water bottle.

"Not your best day?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Why not try just guessing where the ball will go?" he paused, thinking what else to add. "It's not the most efficient way of blocking, but it does work from time to time. Besides, it's not possible to stop every spike that comes your way. I know that sounds kind of harsh, but that's just how volleyball works. That's how life works. Still, you can find ways to make sure the next spike can be stopped, and—oh no, I'm rambling again."

He took a small sip of water. "You're right about that last part. Actually, you're right about everything you just said. Thank you."

"So you're going to try guessing?"

"I mean, my blocking can't get any worse than it already is now."

"Tsukishima, five more minutes and you're back to work!" Ukai shouted.

The blind blocker is back to doing what he does best and is now awaiting another spike. This time he's paired with Narita again, but this time joined by Sugawara.

The whistle blew and the set is up. The ball was making its way towards the left side... where their ace was.

After the realization hit, he sprinted to to his left, leaving Sugawara and Narita behind, and jumped.

And guess what? He was right.

The spike from Asahi was stopped.

"Go, Tsukki!" said Yamaguchi as he cheered on his friend.

He continued to block spikes by purely guessing (and maybe a bit of analysis, as seen earlier). Though sometimes, he would jump in an entirely different direction than where the set is going. Sometimes, he couldn't reach the spiker in time. But that's okay, because he remembered what his best friend said. He'll find ways to get through his next problems.

The rest of the week went by quickly and now it's Friday, luckily for the students of Karasuno, it's also their last period of the day.

Tsukishima's last period is Math, and they were getting the test back. The blind blocker was confident he scored perfect on it, reviewing every single one of his answers multiple times.

The teacher handed him his paper with a smile.

_29/30. Hah, I knew I was going to ace this test._

He took a double-take.

_Wha-what? No, this isn't right._

He scanned the paper trying to see his error. It appears he confused "6" for "5" in one of his solutions.

————————————————————————————————————

**A/N:** I personally didn’t like this one-shot as much compared to the previous ones I wrote. If I rewrite stuff in the future, this might be one of the first to be rewritten. Also this is the last Haikyuu fic I have to transfer from my Wattpad account (link in my profile), so I won’t be posting every day or so anymore. I do my best to make at least one each month tho so stick around for that I guess. Anyways, hope ya enjoyed this one-shot! Criticism is much appreciated and if you liked this, then why not consider leaving a kudos or comment, or maybe even both :)) See ya in the next one-shot!


End file.
